By Teresa Rivas

After going to the moon and Mars, where’s the next stop? The NYSE, of course.

Leading acoustics maker Knowles (KN), whose microphones were used on the Mars Rovers and carried Neil Armstrong’s famous words from the lunar surface in 1969, started trading today as a standalone company after its spinoff from Dover (DOV), and replaces Apollo Investment (AINV) in the S&P MidCap 400.

Like other stocks, Knowles is falling today, down more than 3% at recent check. CEO Jeff Niew spoke with Barrons.com about the debut, noting that today’s drop isn’t concerning, given the market’s mood and the fact that the shares were up more than 7% on Friday in limited trading under KN.wi.

In a phone interview, Niew said there he sees a number of opportunities for Knowles’ products, from smartphones to wearable devices and traditional products like hearing aids. “Consumers are demanding better acoustics,” he says.

Add a Comment

We welcome thoughtful comments from readers. Please comply with our guidelines. Our blogs do not require the use of your real name.

Comment

There is 1 comment

MARCH 3, 2014 5:55 P.M.

Original Poster wrote:

The valuation of Knowles post spinoff looks like it's priced for perfection on 1) raging smart phone growth; and ii) Knowles' OEM customers winning/maintaining share. At over 20.0X earnings and 10.2x EBITDA and with declining operating margins and a paltry 2% free cash yield, I am going to sit on the sidelines for now. The best coverage of the spinoff (where the numbers above came from) is at the truthorfinance.com site.http://www.truthorfinance.com/company-analysis

About Tech Trader Daily

Tech Trader Daily is a blog on technology investing written by Barron’s veteran Tiernan Ray. The blog provides news, analysis and original reporting on events important to investors in software, hardware, the Internet, telecommunications and related fields. Comments and tips can be sent to: techtraderdaily@barrons.com.